I’m A Bit Stuck Up

Alas another holiday has come and gone (I hope everyone enjoyed their Easters) and I can’t help but find that I might be a bit stuck up!

You see, I work really hard to make the best possible choices at family gatherings. This often results in passing up delicious looking food sitting right in front of me. And while I love my family, I know that food is full of cream cheese, icing sugar, cream, and essentially more fat. All topped on top of some sort of bread/cracker (and those are just the apps!). And really, it does taste delicious, but it will also make me feel bloated, sluggish and overall unattractive.

By now my family knows (and mostly accepts) that I eat differently. It’s not that they pressure me about not eating what’s in front of me, it’s more the result of “oh just taste it” or “but it’s Easter” and “you have to indulge sometimes”. What goes unrealized is that I do indulge, just not in the same way. I prefer to make my own indulgences using ingredients that will not slaughter my stomach. Because unfortunately, all those “one bites” add up and along with Easter is: Family Day, Canada Day, Valentines Day, Christmas, Halloween, Birthdays etc. Which are really just blunt excuses for eating crap.

Now, don’t think that I’m being ungrateful to my family who is feeding me for the day. I am perfectly comfortable to eat before I go over, ignore most of the appetizers and grab the veggies and meat at dinner. I really do appreciate being invited over and love that no one minds if I bring my own food.

But there I am, sitting at the table while everyone is enjoying appetizers (and yes I did try something) and I hear a consistent chorus of “this is going to go straight to my butt” and “I’ll have to add in another gym session this week” through the laughter.

Now, let me start by saying I normally stay out of any talk regarding exercise and nutrition. I understand that my views on the subjects are different from the average person and “lecturing” at a family dinner can come across as rude.

The problem I have is not that they joke about what the food will do to them, it’s that, well, they’re wrong. You can’t out train a bad diet. Let me say that again so that it’s clear: You can’t out train a bad diet. Just because you ate crap one day doesn’t mean you can burn it off the next day, your body just doesn’t work like that.

My favorite quote is “I’ll have to add in more cardio this week because that burns more calories”. Weight loss isn’t about calories in or out. Unfortunately it is diet manipulations that drive fat loss (consistent ones at that!) and not exercise, which is essential for building or maintaining lean mass. Meaning, unless you want to spend 9-10 hours each week in the gym and keep doing that your entire life start paying a bit more attention to your nutrition.

I think what irritates me the most is that you know what that food is doing to your body. You know that it is not going to give you the body you want. But somehow it’s still alright. I feel the need to clarify what an “indulgence” or “cheat meal” is: they are not all day binge fests on crap. They are not created so that you can use it as an excuse to eat fat filled food all day and attempt to “burn it off” the next. If you indulged every time there was a “special occasion” than you would be binge eating on a bi-monthly basis if you’re lucky.

Now, I know that not everyone has to spend their days in a sports bra and spanks, so I may be a bit biased. And I am well aware that I am coming off as a stuck up know it all which believe it or not, is not my intention. But please don’t try to sway the mind of the only person in the room who actually knows what the food you’re shoving into your face does once it enters your digestive system. Please don’t try and tell me that I “need to indulge” because I’m already “skinny enough”.

I would much rather be a weird know it all who declines (or accounts for) meals that I know will only deter my goals if it means I can prance around with my belly showing and feel damn good about it. It’s a choice. Clearly, I’ve made mine.